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Phillips's death 'too fluky for words'

Whistler builder believed to have suffocated in snowbank A spokeswoman for the Retallack resort, an officer from the Kaslo RCMP and the West Kootenay coroner have all admitted to being shocked by the circumstances surrounding the death of Whistler bu

Whistler builder believed to have suffocated in snowbank

A spokeswoman for the Retallack resort, an officer from the Kaslo RCMP and the West Kootenay coroner have all admitted to being shocked by the circumstances surrounding the death of Whistler builder Wayne Phillips.

One of Phillips's closest friends, Dr. Vlad Krajina, tried to resuscitate Phillips at the scene and he described Phillips's death as just "too fluky for words".

Phillips died last week while cat-skiing near the Retallack Resort Lodge in the Kootenays after he went headfirst into a snowbank.

The 43-year-old father of four went missing near the end of a run around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 26 th . His lifeless body was dragged out of hard-packed snow approximately 45 minutes later.

But the most astonishing aspect of his disappearance is that at the time of his death Phillips was with a group of 11 other skiers and two accredited guides.

Eight members of his group, including Krajina, were doctors trained in emergency medicine and all of them worked on Phillips when he was found almost completely buried in a creek-bed.

Phillips was also an experienced powder skier that had taken several holidays in the region.

Krajina said Phillips was skiing near the back of the group when he veered onto a "mickey mouse" side trail.

"It's really too fluky for words because the trail he was skiing on looked about as dangerous as a parking lot," Krajina said.

"He'd fallen over into a ditch and the snow had just turned to concrete around him and filled in over the top of him, like a tree well," Krajina said.

West Kootenay coroner Sandra Reimer said in a preliminary report that Phillips suffocated, but her full report on his death is not expected for another three months.

Reimer agreed that Phillips's death was puzzling but she was also adamant that it served as a warning for people who ski in the backcountry.

"A lot of people don't realize how soft snow can be and how it can hide branches and holes and if you fall into them, you're at the mercy of the snow," Reimer said.

"Cat skiing in the backcountry is exciting but it's mother-nature's territory and she can be very cruel.

"People need to be aware of the chance they're taking when they venture out."

Phillips was clinically dead when the rescuers found him but Reimer said the doctors in his group worked on him for some time because his body temperature had dropped dramatically.

"His body temperature was so low that the body had started to shut down and sometimes when that happens you can revive them.

"There were physicians at the scene who did work on him until the paramedics arrived so in that sense he was very lucky to have that sort of care.

"The preliminary findings are that he appears to have suffocated. there are no injuries such as broken bones or trauma," she said. "We don't know exactly how it all happened because there's no anatomical changes such as fractures.

"This is certainly an extremely unfortunate incident."

Spokeswomen for the Retallack Resort Lodge Ellen Kinsel said Phillips was part of a group of 24.

"They were skiing in two groups and each group had two guides and their own cat," Kinsel said.

The group had booked a five-day stay but the accident happened on the first day.

Retallack opened as a resort in 1996 and according to Kinsel this is the first serious incident.

"Unfortunately this kind of incident is not unknown in our industry," she said.

"We felt pleased with the professionalism of the guides and that the safety procedures worked well; the police were there in about 20 minutes.

"Our concern is for the family, we definitely feel great sympathy for them."

Constable Newton from the Kaslo RCMP confirmed that there was nothing suspicious about the circumstances of Phillips's death.

"That's why we call them accidents; and this one appears to have be a very unfortunate one," Constable Newton said.

Phillips was easily recognized in Whistler because he regularly walked two huge Great Danes.

Krajina said that Phillips was a "brave skier" who also enjoyed the finer points in life such as classical music and red wine.

"This is certainly a horrible loss because I considered him a brother; we had a friendship for over 25 years," Krajina said.

Phillips's brother, Steve, said people in several provinces would sorely miss Wayne.

"He built his little piece of heaven in Whistler and now it's time for him to take a piece of Whistler to heaven," Steve said.

Phillips was a small-scale private developer who built and then sold his own homes. He also contracted his building expertise on a freelance basis.

In addition to his skills as a builder, Phillips was also involved in the entertainment industry.

Every year he travelled to Vancouver for the duration of he Pacific National Exhibition to look after part of the family business, Conklin Shows, which runs rides, games and other entertainments at the fair.